Food safety

One thing that I was thinking about, but did not really explore last week, was that one possible issue with people looking down on flu shots is that we use the word "flu" a lot, for things that are not influenza, and maybe it dilutes the brand.

There are varieties of the influenza that cause digestive issues, but what we frequently refer to as flu, or stomach flu, is more likely to be some form of gastroenteritis. It can come from viruses like norovirus and rotavirus, bacteria like salmonella and e. coli, or parasites like Giardia.

Much like influenza, no one really needs gastroenteritis. It is lost time, lost money, and gained suffering. Also similar to influenza, there are reasonable things one can do for prevention.

I am going to focus on food safety, which I realize I have not written about in a while. It was hinted at in the post on using Thanksgiving leftovers, but not really covered, and this is as good a time as any.

First of all, let me say that one of the things I really appreciated from my Master Food Preserver training was that there are a lot of things that can kill us that don't. I am grateful for this. We have stomach acid and white blood cells and things that work together to protect us that are often successful.

There is still no need to push our luck, and it is almost impossible to push our own luck without pushing on the luck of others. So, out of concern for yourself, and others, these are reasonable steps to take for health.

It is essential to cook meat thoroughly. Follow recommended times and temperatures. The juice running clear is not a reliable sign. Most meat thermometers will not only measure the temperature but show you the recommended temperature for the item you are cooking.

Foods must also be stored at proper temperatures. Your refrigerator should be set at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, and your freezer should be set at 0. Prepared food should not remain at room temperature longer than two hours. When moving to refrigeration, use shallow containers, as food in deep ones could take too long to cool throughout.

Beware of cross-contamination. Cooking will kill the bacteria in the meat, but that bacteria can be transmitted to other foods that will not be cooked (like breads or fruits). Wash hands, utensils, and cutting boards after handling raw meat, eggs, or un-pasteurized milk. Wipe or spray with diluted bleach (1 tsp bleach in 1 qt water).

Fruits and vegetables can pick up contamination in the fields, not just through cross-contamination. One of the recent salmonella outbreaks started with cantaloupe. Although only the outside was contaminated, when the knife sliced through the rind it brought the outside contaminants in. Cleaning and drying the fruit before cutting could have prevented infection.

Food poisoning will not usually kill a healthy adult (though they may briefly wish they were dead), but it is more dangerous for the elderly, children, pregnant women, or those who already have a compromised immune system through other medical conditions. Special care should be taken with them. Special areas of concern could be deli meats (including hot dogs), soft cheeses, and foods containing raw eggs, as they may not be cooked at a high enough heat.

It can also be helpful to know where your food is coming from. A package of ground beef from a factory farm has more opportunities for infection than a side of beef raised by a 4-H kid (though you will still want to properly cook it).

If in doubt, throw it out. Groceries can be replaced much more easily than your health.

For more information see http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/bacteria/.

Regular hand washing is always going to be important, along with an awareness of what you are touching, and the order in which you are touching it.

I admit, I still eat raw cookie dough, and I guess I just hope that I do enough other things right that it works out. You can pick your battles when you know what they are.